Wouldn’t It Be Great If…
Shopping Was Exercise?

I’ve just started walking to keep fit. I have clocked 20 hours in the past week.  And it all started with a post-Christmas sales shopping spree.

You see, I only shop for clothes about 3-4 times a year but it’s usually a multiple-day affair for me — 1 day to plan and check out styles in magazines or websites; 1-3 days to scour ALL the clothing racks in town, a day to decide whether I really need whatever I’ve singled out in the stores, and another day to actually buy the stuff. I’m probably the least impulsive shopper you’ll ever meet and have annoyed practically everyone who’s ever been shopping with me — even my mom. Which is why I now only shop alone.  She doesn’t get why I need to think so hard about buying a $10 pair of sandals.  To me, $10 spent on something I’m not gonna use regularly is $10 wasted.  (However, this habit does not extend to other areas of my life like  buying snacks for myself  (unfortunately) — “$16 for a tub of ice-cream? Sounds delicious!” — or buying gifts for others (fortunately) — “$80 for a box of fine chocolates? Why not? She’s worth it!”)

Anyway, I realised that I could spend up to 8 hours a day on my feet, walking briskly from mall to mall, trying to find the perfect shirt at the perfect price and this exercise proved to be quite a work out. A hugely satisfying one. Why not create a fitness regime based on shopping, I thought? So with that in mind, my Shoppercise programme is born. It goes something like this:

1. I’ll award myself $5 of spending money at the end of each hour of walking (window shopping).
2. Unspent allowance will be brought forward to the next hour. So if I want to spend $20 on a t-shirt, I’ll need to walk 4 hours to earn it. A lot of work for a bit of money, but that’s the point.
3. At the end of the day, I either have something new in my wardrobe that I had “exercised” for, or earn a few dollars of somewhat guilt-free (I “earned” it by burning calories, right?) shopping allowance.
4. Repeat every week until I get sick of this scheme.

Still on the topic of walking, I have recently discovered a park with a mangrove forest just a 15-minute walk away from my apartment. I was there yesterday and saw a monkey, a huge spider and so many species of plants I’ve never seen before. The whole trail takes about an hour and a half to cover and I can see myself going there at least once a week.

Wouldn’t It Be Great If…
Your Haircut Came with The Internet?

I go to the hair salon every 6 months. I like getting my hair fixed but I do not enjoy the amount of time it takes to get the job done. Usually the process would take at least an hour and much, much longer if I decide to go with a totally different look.

Wouldn’t it be great if one could do work or surf the internet while getting your hair done instead of just reading the magazines provided? I believe a few high-end salons are providing free wi-fi access stations but I’m talking about having the option to surf in my seat while the hairstylist do my hair.

Some points of contention

“You mean you want the Internets to rule your hairdressing salons too? Hello? Unplug, much?”

It’s purely optional. You can choose to surf or work on your laptop or you could stick to your magazines or bitching with your hairdresser.

“It’s expensive to implement.”

The salon may probably need a small investment but think of the benefit in customer experience. Instead of flipping through hair catalogues to select a style, a customer can superimpose his or her photos through a virtual hair makeover application like this one

“What’s the big deal about waiting a few minutes to get your haircut? Ever heard of patience?”

Have you ever taken 5 hours to get your hair done? I have (a botched colouring job). If there’s an opportunity to make fuller use of your time, why not?

Perhaps it’s really the comfort level that I’m having a problem with. You know the feeling of having to bend your neck for more than 15 minutes trying to read a heavy magazine that’s resting on your lap? Probably the most practical solution is to just provide a table of comfortable size and height (like a writing or tablet arm chair) preferably the type that swings out of the way when not in use.

Wouldn’t It Be Awesome If…?

I keep a list of ideas that starts with the line “Wouldn’t It Be Great If…” a habit inspired by a presentation by Jake and Jeff of SkinnyCorp which I watched early last year:

In this list, no idea is too fantastic, too difficult or un-noteworthy, they are just waiting for the right time to fully blossom. Needless to say, I have a lot of pet projects just waiting to be executed! B noted that some of my ideas have no direct relation to my interest or skill set. In my opinion, some of these ideas just need the right person to take on, which is why I’m sharing one of my latest entries above. If you run a hair boutique and just happen to read this, please take note — you could be pioneering a new standard in customer care! ;D

Have a great weekend!